Popular Woodworking 2002-06 № 128, страница 19
assembly unevenly. I would look at the lower edge of your lever cap and make sure it is smooth and contacts the chipbreaker all the way across its width. If you'd like to replace your lever cap, Woodcraft Supply (800-225-1153 or www.wood-craft.com) and Highland Hardware (800-2416748 or www.highlandhardware.com) both carry replacement parts for most Bailey-style planes. A new lever cap will cost about $21. — Christopher Schwarz, senior editor How Do You Get the Grain in Baltic Birch Plywood to Pop? How does one get the grain in Baltic birch plywood to show to good advantage? I would like to get the grain to show darker against the lighter wood. This plywood has wonderful structural properties and the grain is there, but I cannot get it to pop out. Heavy sanding seems to help. I also have tried clear oils and finishes without success. Commercial stains don't penetrate enough to do the job. They end up more like a thin paint. I have tried Danish oil, linseed oil, nitrocellulose lacquer, polyurethane and many commercial stain sealers. The best I've found so far is Minwax Ebony, but there is still much room for improvement. Joe Doyle via the internet Adding color to Baltic birch is a problem. First, birch is one of those stubborn woods that will blotch when stained. It's in the same blotch-prone family as pine, cherry and maple. Additionally, the color of the birch facing is uniform, so there are no dark/light color variations that will be highlighted by stains or dyes. Furthermore, the grain is tight, so pigmented stains find no room to collect in the tiny grain pores, as is the case with oak and other coarse-grained woods. However, I have had some success using aniline dye on Baltic birch. There's less of a problem with blotching because the dye penetrates the wood fibers, rather than lying on top of the wood. And because there is no pigment, the dye doesn't cover up what little grain there is to show. You might enhance your results with the dye by following it up with a light application of linseed oil. I often have applied linseed oil to figured woods such as curly or bird's eye maple to deepen the contrast where the grain changes direction. It's worth a shot. PW — Steve Shanesy, editor and publisher 17 For a dirt & dust free finish GET IT ALL with Datco Surgical Blue™ & Professional™ Tack Cloth DATCO INTERNATIONAL, ING Call 1-800-TACKRAG or order online at www.tackcloth.com CIRCLE NO. 103 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. IAGARA LUMBER You'll appreciate our difference. Prepaid Freight • Surfaced • Bundled Shrink Wrapped • Guaranteed • All lumber is Select and better grade, 4" and wider, averaging 6"-7" in width, lengths are 6'-8'. All stock meets or exceeds National Hardwood Lumber Assoc. grade rules. • All domestic lumber is Northern Appalachian grown, exhibiting characteristics of fine grain, texture and uniform color. Visa/Mastercard/Discover accepted. Niagara Lumber & WOOD PRODUCTS, INC. 47 Elm Street • East Aurora, NY 14052 Call Toll-Free 1-800-274-0397 www.niagaralumber.com LTD., LP. STOCK ITEMS NO MINIMUM ORDERS WE WILL MAKE PRODUCTION RUNS OF YOUR PART By American Craftsmen P.O. Box 728, Dept. PW17 Morristown, TN 37815-0728 ____ Phone 423-587-2942 • Fax 423-586-2188 FREE www.adamswoodproducts.com COLOR CATALOG CIRCLE NO. 126 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. CIRCLE NO. 100 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. Nobody But Bessey Has Ever Designed and Built a Clamp That Works Like a K-Body Clamp ... Nobody. The original parallel clamp designed for woodworkers who depend on accurate clamping every time they use their K-Body, year after year. The original Bessey K-Body... for woodworkers who believe "almost" parallel, is just not good enough. lericanclami CIRCLE NO. 141 ON FREE INFORMATION CARD. TM |
